The Last Cube Review (PC)

I first roll my cube until I make sure to land on the elevator platform with my red square facing up. I then use its power to descend to an activate yellow bridge. It leads me to a secret area where I find a little more about the game world. I then backtrack and find the best position to create some stairs to a levitating brick structure that leads me to another set of puzzles, with the level ending teleporter coming into view.

The Last Cube is developed and published by Improx Games. I played on the PC using Steam, but the title can also be bought on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One. The title mixes puzzle and platformer concepts, with a focus on symbols and clever design.

What the game doesn’t focus on is narrative. This is a geometry-driven world where cubes are self-aware, and it seems that the world is in the sort of danger that can only be eliminated by solving puzzles. Bright lore cubes are hidden around the levels, offering more details, but this is not an experience that anyone will play because they want to learn more about lore.

The Last Cube opens up with a short basic tutorial. It then introduces players to a hub world that will open up new levels one by one. Once the player enters one, the challenge is to reach the final teleporting platform. This will happen only if he successfully solves the puzzles and that means thinking, planning, and then executing.

+4more

The game quickly introduces its unique idea: sticky squares. When the cube rolls over them, they leave a symbol on one of its sides. Roll over the appropriate lock square and something happens in the environment, opening up progress. The various symbols, which are also color-coded, also open up special abilities when they sit on the top face of the cube.

Blue allows the player to rotate the facets underneath him, while yellow enables a slide move that gets past obstacles and breaks stuff. The red circle creates staircases, and green can be used to create clones that help with the deeper puzzles. I will leave purple and orange as surprises.

Cube powers are not the only tools that gamers need to take into account. There are other cubes inside the levels, some of them still and some on the move. And there’s both water and wiping tiles spread all over, ready to steal abilities. Finding ways to move powers from one area to another while getting past them is a big part of the game. Finding secrets and lore is another. Each level is handcrafted, carefully designed to present some tough challenges while giving players plenty of hints about how to approach the problem.

One big challenge for puzzle platformers is to manage frustration and The Last Cube does this well. There don’t seem to be full fail states and the option to go back to the hub and restart is always present. I also love that I can press a button near a trigger to get a clear idea of how to roll around to activate it.

Play Video

Because, beyond the designed puzzles, the big challenge is to get positioning right. I know that I need to get to that tile with yellow on top and red on the bottom. Where and how do I need to go and how should I deploy blue to do that? The tension between 2D and 3D creates some very good Eureka moments.

The Last Cube needs those badly because they are what generates engagement. Once the player has seen all the powers and the tricks, the game needs to deliver more cool moments, because it has nothing else to sustain interest.

The Last Cube is pretty spartan in terms of presentation, with geometric shapes dominating the universe. Color exists mostly to indicate gameplay opportunities and progress. It is important to move the camera around, not to enjoy the levels but to see which facet of the player cube has what symbol on it. The soundtrack tries hard to make the action more exciting and science-fiction than it actually is, but it never manages to make the universe engaging.

+4more

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion